Joan H. Strand

Joan H. Strand became professor emeritus in residence of clinical law in 2011, after 32 years at GW Law. After graduating from law school in 1975, she supervised students working on civil cases in the D.C. Law Students in Court Program. In 1979, she joined the Law School faculty and directed the Civil Litigation Clinic. .

She is an active member of the D.C. legal community, having served in several leadership positions in the D.C. Bar, including co-chairing the Family Law Section and serving on the Public Service Activities Committee. In 1997, she received the D.C. Bar Foundation’s Jerrold Scoutt Prize in recognition of her years of service to disadvantaged persons in the District of Columbia.

In 1994, she was given the D.C. Bar’s Best Project Award for chairing the D.C. Practice Manual Revision Committee. Professor Strand taught continuing legal education courses to train lawyers in private practice on how to handle pro bono cases in family law. She served as secretary of the D.C. Bar and as a member of the Board of Governors. In 1999-2000, Professor Strand served as president of the D.C. Bar. She was appointed by the D.C. Court of Appeals to the first term of the D.C. Access to Justice Commission (2005 to 2008), a body that secured public funds to support civil legal services and proposed new ways to make lawyers and access to justice more available for underprivileged people in the District of Columbia.

In May 2008, the Legal Times 30th Anniversary issue named Professor Strand one of the 90 greatest Washington lawyers of the last 30 years. She served three terms on the D.C. Bar Foundation (2000 to 2007) and served on the boards of the Council for Court Excellence and the D.C. Public Defender Service.